Before Ben Johnson ever called a play for the Chicago Bears, he said something that stopped Jaylon Johnson cold.
“For me, the biggest takeaway was ‘we’re not trying to win, we’re trying to blow people out,'” the cornerback told Chris Long on his Green Light podcast. “I never heard nobody say that.”
Since 2010, the Bears managed just four winning records in the last 16 seasons. The message for years had been about competing, staying in games, limiting mistakes, “finding ways to win.” Ben Johnson walked in and torched that mentality from day one.
From accepting failure to expecting dominance
GettyBears CB Jaylon Johnson
A lot of the players who thrived in 2025 were the same ones who went 5-12 the year before. QB Caleb Williams, RT Darnell Wright, DT Gervon Dexter… they didn’t suddenly become different people. They finally played under a coach who refused to let mediocrity feel normal. The difference was the standard.
Add in the rookies who arrived already bought in… TE Colston Loveland, WR Luther Burden, LT Ozzy Trapilo, RB Kyle Monangai… and you had a roster where nobody was dragging the culture backward. Ryan Poles deserves credit for that too cause building a team is also about matching the right players to the right environment.
It’s worth sitting with the fact that Jaylon Johnson, a two time Pro Bowler who had been in this building for years, had never heard a coach say something like that. Not under Matt Nagy. Not under Matt Eberflus. Nobody. And Jaylon Johnson wasn’t exactly quiet when things were broken.
Thanksgiving 2024 in Detroit, Jaylon Johnson ripped into Eberflus in the locker room after yet another late game collapse. Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported that Johnson spoke in “very colorful language” for 10 to 15 minutes. The coaching staff lost the room completely and Eberflus was fired the next day.
That’s the context here. This is a guy who held coaches accountable when they stopped doing their jobs. So when he says he’s never heard a coach demand blowouts, that tells you everything about the standard the Chicago Bears had before Ben Johnson.
Now he needs to play like it
GettyBears CBs Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon
But here’s the other side of this story: Jaylon Johnson has to actually back it up in 2026.
Last season was rough. A groin injury that required surgery wiped out training camp, the preseason, and most of his regular season. In seven games, he gave up a 72.7 percent catch rate and allowed 17.2 yards per reception.
Ben Johnson addressed it plainly at the NFL owners meetings in March. “We’re a better team, we’re certainly a better defense, when those two guys are out there,” he said, referring to Johnson and nickel back Kyler Gordon, who was also limited to just three games last year. “There’s a reason why they’re paid the way they’re paid. We need them out there.”
The Chicago Bears lost 18 of their 23 interceptions from a year ago in free agency. Someone has to replace that production. Jaylon Johnson is the most logical answer on the roster, but only if he stays healthy.
Jaylon Johnson Just Said What Everyone Was Thinking About Ben Johnson